Monday, March 31, 2008

A decision has been made

After last week's sequester to the homestead after spiking a fever and all the overthinking, an overthinking girl can do when stuck home sick...I've come to a conclusion and a decision.

I'm not doing Vineman 70.3 this year.

The reasons are varied. But a couple of things struck me:

1) It isn't in my top two things I want to accomplish in my training

2) And J made the comment: "We need to chat about your overall life and diet and nutrition and what you are not doing. "(we still do...) But it got me thinking about what I am doing and what I'm not doing and my overall life. And thinking about where I am and where I have been physically and emotionally in my life leading up to right now over the past 1-2 years. And well...after some careful debates, I came to my conclusion.

I am eyeing doing SOMA in Oct and just inching my distances up over the summer...but I'm not sure I can come to a decision on whether or not to do it before it sells out.

In the meantime, I'm training for the bike leg of the Wildflower Oly in 5 weeks (or is it 4?). After that, I'm focused on a 10K mud run in mid June with an obstacle course and lots of mud. And then...I donno. I might do San Diego International at the end of June and maybe one or two other Oly's and throw in a few sprints, but that is yet to be determined. I know I should make a plan and decide and...and...and...but the type A personality in me is failing to show up at this moment which tells me I should just plan some training, be consistent with it and see where the chips fall. Not very type A (as most triathletes are type A personalities), but it is what it is.

What's that mean for training? 2 days of crossfit, 1-3 days of yoga, brave masters swimming at least one day a week, focus on biking til Wildflower and then focus on running for the 10K in June (doesn't mean I stop running or biking respectively, it just means...less during a 'focus' period).

I'm not too heart broken about the decision which tells me, I wasn't really as invested in Vineman as I should be for a half ironman. I've learned I really can't focus on more than 1 to 2 things at a given time...and do them well...so I'm going to focus on those 2 things, and get back to the basics and the reasons why I do this crazy sport.

10 comments:

Bob Almighty said...

Too bad about Vineman, but deciding to pull out early is better than trying to pull out late. I think Soma might be a wise choice because it give you optimal time to train( granted this coming from the guy how did a half on a whim in 07)as well as get Posas thing figured out.

Speed Racer said...

Nooooooo! My guinea pig! That's a real darned shame about vineman, but if your heart's not in it, then that's a long, hard day to "just get through". I'm biting my tongue trying not to say that the distance isn't such a big deal, because it is if your head's not in it, I guess. I'll still miss your race report and grilling you on the course, though.

I did San Diego Int'l as my first triathlon and didn't love it too much. Then again, it was my first ever race and did pretty much everything wrong humanly possible. But the last half of the run is a big loop around the airport parking lot. Yuck.

I hope you get your things sorted out so you can have a happy summer, whatever you happen to be focusing on at the time.

Sarah said...

Hey girl,

While the rest of us are saying "awwwww, we're so bummed you're not doing it," I commend you for listening to YOUR needs and doing what YOU need to do.

Trust me, trying to do a half-ironman when your heart/body isn't completely in it is NOT fun. It's too long to not be all there. Besides, there's plenty of time to do it if you want to.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to do the Terrible Two this year. Me and three other cycling buddies were going to do it. I was pumped. But after a lot of thinking and talking with two people who know what they're talking about, I came to the conclusion that it really isn't my year to do it. Someday, I will. But not this year.

So, I know how it feels to make these kind of decisions. But I think you're doing the right thing in evaluating your approach and making sure you're going to be able to enjoy the journey.

Good on you. :) What's SOMA, anyway?

(I'm still bummed you're not doing Vineman! What about doing the Santa Barbara Triathlon? That's an AWESOME race that I LOVE...)

Angry Runner said...

I guess that makes two of us as 70.3 droppers. Then again, we are both on the same page as far as these things go. Keep CFing. Did you meet Coach Glassman yet?

IronWaddler said...

Tough decision but all good reasoning. Your time will come.

rocketpants said...

Bob: The psoas is still a misfit...so it frustrates me more than I care to admit most days. That one *does* come under the top two things i'm focused on this season.

Claire: I didn't know I was your guinea pig. I would think that you being a vegetarian, would be against animal testing;-). You should talk to Sarah (comment after yours) about the course, she lives in that area.

Sarah: SOMA's a HIM in AZ but not til October. Hmmm...looked at the Santa Barbra tri...interesting...i'm tempted by the longer than oly distance, but not HIM. I've done one with similar distances (but shorter run) two seasons ago. It is an interesting possibility.

Angry: I had to google Coach Glassman...that tells you my knowledge of who he is.

Waddler: Timing is everything. Life is long.

J said...

Well, this is a good start to our conversation. :o)

mindy said...

Good to go with your gut - though I agree with Claire, you could do the distance. But the training is really draining and your head and heart definitely have to be in it. I hope it's a relief and you can focus on what's manageable and enjoyable and have some good races to look forward to!

Sunshine said...

Glad you are happy with your re-evaluation. Life is a journey.. it is probably a good thing to look ahead one in a while and see where you are going.
Seems like you are doing that.
(Especially since life is not as long as it seems. Good you are taking care.)

triguyjt said...

you are right to go with what you feel is right and to not make any decisions on what you think is expected of you, etc....

good move...
good luck